


Nighttime brings sorrow and grief

by dancing_apples



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Leia Organa doesn't need to be protected, but she deserves it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 14:19:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10878579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancing_apples/pseuds/dancing_apples
Summary: Leia's nightmares don't haunt just her.





	Nighttime brings sorrow and grief

The air is stale. Recycled and stifling, it weighs heavy upon Leia. At times it seems like the walls are closing in around her, like the trash compactor on the Death Star. She misses the open air palaces of Alderaan, the green forests and clear lakes. 

But she has no place for thoughts like that, no time to think of it. Or her father and mother. Or everyone she knew. They're all gone. Everything is gone.

She's the princess of a planet that no longer exists. 

She's the ruler of people who are long dead. 

Because she could not save them.

The scars on the back of her neck start to itch, reminding her of something she fought to suppress. Reminding her of dreams she tried to forget when she woke. Reminding her of her time of on the Death Star. 

Leia fought against the sick feeling that rose in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't think about the Death Star. She couldn't think about the torture and the way Vader had probed her mind. That only lead to the worsening of her nightmares. 

She knew Luke and Han knew about the nightmares. It would be hard not to know, stuck inside the tin can that was the Millennium Falcon. Sound travelled on this ship. Her cries would be impossible to ignore. 

Luke was visibly distressed by them, dark circles having formed under his eyes. She could see what sleep deprivation was doing to him. He was thin and tense constantly. She knew that she was much the same. 

Leia was grateful to him. He would often come check on her during the night, waking her if her dreams were too much. Luke would would sit with her until she fell back asleep, or stay up with her if she couldn't. He had become her best friend- irreplaceable and so vitally important to her. She had grown to love the farmboy. She didn't know what she would do without him. 

Han was harder to read. She could not find any traces of sleepless nights on his face, but the way his attitude has changed told her the truth. Her nightmares had blunted the barbs they tossed back and forth, his desire to fight with her weakened by the echoes of her cries ringing in his ears. 

Han treated her like a delicate flower now. It made her furious. She tried harder to get a rise out of him, but she failed every time, his eyes revealing only sympathy and understanding. She hated him sometimes.

But other times, she was immensely grateful for him. She would find presents hidden under her pillow, presents that could only be from him. Rare books and trinkets, games for her and Luke, sweets and perfume. And once, an Alderaani jasmine blossom, perfectly preserved. 

(That one had made her cry. The flower was the last of its kind. Like her.)

C3PO expresses his concern and makes her drams meant to help rid her of the nightmares. He has an amazing amount of herbal medicine stored in his data banks. R2D2 beeps quietly with worry, and she could always find him rolling three feet behind her. 

But as helpful as they all were, Chewbacca turns out to be her rock. He's there, silent and steadfast when she needs it. And sitting in the cockpit with Chewie, watching the stars streak by the window, Leia feels more at peace than she has in a long time. Something about the presence of this giant walking carpet puts her at ease. 

She nods off in the copilot’s seat, lulled to sleep by the humming of the engines and the calm presence of the Wookie beside her, and for once her dreams are not filled with terror.


End file.
